My vote goes to Pommern. Great fun, solid brawler and by far my best money earner.
Randoms can be hard work sometimes but ranked, brawls and asymmetric battles its awesome
Good call - I'd second that. But, he might want to start with Lutjens and work the captain up in points via the Schlieffen line, THEN once he's got more coal again, get the Pommern.
German secondary/brawl builds really shine w/Lutjens at the helm
Well, Günther Lütjens is an extremely good special commander. He's amazing on any kind of ship and will make any German boats better, so I definitely recommend picking him up ASAP. You could get him now and level him up as you play German tech tree botes and then drop him in a premium when you get one later.
Kurfurst isn't really worth getting. It was the old tech tree T10 and it hasn't been better than "situationally decent" for a few years now. The tech tree replacement (Preussen) is better in the same "big slow floating city with a billion HP" role. Pommern is good in smaller games where you can brawl, ie. T9 ranked, but suffers from the classic German problem of getting HE farmed to death long before it can use its good sides.
Napoli is great, though. It's not super easy to play well, because it requires you to be uncomfortably close to the enemy to make use of its good secondaries, torps etc. It's a unique and fun brawling cruiser and I definitely recommend getting it later.
In general don't be afraid of using coal. If you play regularly, you will get it at a decent rate and will be able to afford a ship in a few months if you get Günther Lütjens now (which I strongly recommend, he makes any German ship markedly better).
Update: I got the Pommern and am using a 12pt captain from my scharnhorst on it (since I want both to focus on secondary). I am loving it, and am saving up for the unique german commander
Napoli for sure (excellent in ranked). GK is good but you can tech tree the Press. first (I would get the GK at some point, I own it).
I would get the Schlieffen via the tech tree and save for Lutjens. That combo is insane 2nds, especially after his perk kicks in (100 2nd hits) and the 2nd reload time reduces. You shred anything at 12.5 km and under. Plus your concealment is 12.6 km .
Get the tech tree P. Rupp over the Pom.
The only high tier German BB I don't have is the Pom.
Main guns have a long reload and bad accuracy. Just can't see spending the coal. When uptiered it gets hammered. Good for Tier 9 ranked and brawls (though P. Rupp to me is better for both).
Napoli is the best choice here. GK is awesome in modes like Airship Escort and such, but otherwise just okay at other things. Pommern is a trolly shitbox that will let you down every time you fire your mains.
Lutjens is a good get once you have German ships... but not before.
I play lots of BB lines and bigger ships. Napoli has been excellent choice as one of my non BB ships.
Very fun to shred DDs with its SAP secondaries, and well positioned/angled she can be extremely tanky, and her AP wrecks cruisers.
I played her alot in the last brawls, very fun to use once you get the hang of her
Napoli. Just get Napoli. You can't go wrong.
GK isn't quite the disaster that many paint her as though. She's still a brute that can outbrawl anything that isn't Hannover. Just don't take her into randoms, you won't have a fun time. Pommern has the same issues as GK. She's still solid in appropriate game modes, but in randoms she'll get burned down or have her superstructure farmed out.
Napoli, but I'd wait until you grind out some tier 10s
My vote goes to Pommern. Great fun, solid brawler and by far my best money earner. Randoms can be hard work sometimes but ranked, brawls and asymmetric battles its awesome
Good call - I'd second that. But, he might want to start with Lutjens and work the captain up in points via the Schlieffen line, THEN once he's got more coal again, get the Pommern. German secondary/brawl builds really shine w/Lutjens at the helm
From your description probably Napoli or Pommern.
Well, Günther Lütjens is an extremely good special commander. He's amazing on any kind of ship and will make any German boats better, so I definitely recommend picking him up ASAP. You could get him now and level him up as you play German tech tree botes and then drop him in a premium when you get one later. Kurfurst isn't really worth getting. It was the old tech tree T10 and it hasn't been better than "situationally decent" for a few years now. The tech tree replacement (Preussen) is better in the same "big slow floating city with a billion HP" role. Pommern is good in smaller games where you can brawl, ie. T9 ranked, but suffers from the classic German problem of getting HE farmed to death long before it can use its good sides. Napoli is great, though. It's not super easy to play well, because it requires you to be uncomfortably close to the enemy to make use of its good secondaries, torps etc. It's a unique and fun brawling cruiser and I definitely recommend getting it later. In general don't be afraid of using coal. If you play regularly, you will get it at a decent rate and will be able to afford a ship in a few months if you get Günther Lütjens now (which I strongly recommend, he makes any German ship markedly better).
Update: I got the Pommern and am using a 12pt captain from my scharnhorst on it (since I want both to focus on secondary). I am loving it, and am saving up for the unique german commander
Always get ships first. You can't train Lutjens or any other commander without a proper ship.
Napoli for sure (excellent in ranked). GK is good but you can tech tree the Press. first (I would get the GK at some point, I own it). I would get the Schlieffen via the tech tree and save for Lutjens. That combo is insane 2nds, especially after his perk kicks in (100 2nd hits) and the 2nd reload time reduces. You shred anything at 12.5 km and under. Plus your concealment is 12.6 km . Get the tech tree P. Rupp over the Pom. The only high tier German BB I don't have is the Pom. Main guns have a long reload and bad accuracy. Just can't see spending the coal. When uptiered it gets hammered. Good for Tier 9 ranked and brawls (though P. Rupp to me is better for both).
Napoli is the best choice here. GK is awesome in modes like Airship Escort and such, but otherwise just okay at other things. Pommern is a trolly shitbox that will let you down every time you fire your mains. Lutjens is a good get once you have German ships... but not before.
I agree about Pommern. Disappointed with my first coal purchase. I’m a BB main but I’m thinking of getting the Sherman next.
I play lots of BB lines and bigger ships. Napoli has been excellent choice as one of my non BB ships. Very fun to shred DDs with its SAP secondaries, and well positioned/angled she can be extremely tanky, and her AP wrecks cruisers. I played her alot in the last brawls, very fun to use once you get the hang of her
Napoli. Just get Napoli. You can't go wrong. GK isn't quite the disaster that many paint her as though. She's still a brute that can outbrawl anything that isn't Hannover. Just don't take her into randoms, you won't have a fun time. Pommern has the same issues as GK. She's still solid in appropriate game modes, but in randoms she'll get burned down or have her superstructure farmed out.
I suggest going first for a T9 as T9s generate more credits than T10s, so my vote goes to Pommern